


What's in a Name?

by DaughteroftheMist



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Affection, Blood, Broken Bones, But the twisted kind, Dick Grayson is a Talon, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Mental Anguish, Post Forever Evil, Post Spyral, Psychological Torture, Suicidal Thoughts, Torture, and they don't know how to make it right, cobb is a creep, cobb takes advantage, dick is touched starved and hurting, let dick be angry Damn it!, more tags to come, the family fucks up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-26 04:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30099981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaughteroftheMist/pseuds/DaughteroftheMist
Summary: Dick Grayson was the living embodiment of hope. Funny how it was his family that robbed him of it all.William Cobb knew his blood well. Watching Richard curl up and sob miserably night after night gave him the opening he needed. Wayne truly was a fool. He had just handed the Gray Son over on a silver platter...
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, William Cobb (DCU) & Dick Grayson
Comments: 29
Kudos: 122





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's not enough of the fics where Dick gets to be pissed off at the family for everything they've done to him. So I'm doing my own twist. 
> 
> Warning: this is going to get fucked up.

Richard John Grayson sat on the rooftop of his Bludhaven apartment wearing nothing more than a tank top and very thin pajama pants. He was barefoot. Shivering against the rain. He truly looked a pitiful sight. 

William Cobb observed his great grandson from his perch in the shadows. He had observed another spat between Richard and his so called "family". The Todd wretch had thrown increasingly violent barbs and William watched as Richard had withered and expected his fool of a caretaker to step in. 

But Wayne had not. And neither has any of his other siblings. William had to chuckle. If only those foolish children knew what Wayne had truly done. But when they finally found out, it would be far too late...

_"Richard..."_ Cobb cooed as he jumped from his perch. Richard had tensed, his skin glistening with raindrops. But he sighed.

"What do you want?" Dick was numb. He knew he couldn't fight Cobb. But what made him think he wanted to?

William tsked as he removed his mask. He placed a clawed hand under his grandson's chin and with as much tenderness as he could muster, turned his face towards him. He made a sad noise and wiped the very obvious tears away.

"Why do you cry dear heart?" The endearment made Richard's eyes widened and he jerked away. 

"Fuck off..."

Cobb expected this. The fight was still there but not for long.

"My dear boy....don't tell me you waste your tears on that pathetic man and his pathetic children."

Dick tensed at the beginning of that sentence. He sounded like...

"The butler is truly the only one who cares correct? But is the old man worth all the pain and suffering they inflict child?"

Dick gripped his hair. "Stop..."

But Cobb smirked unseen. "Oh Richard....they do not care little one. If your "siblings" cared they wouldn't hurt you. They would defend you or at least _try_ to understand. If Wayne cared he would at least tell the truth and Apologize. He would have _never made you do the mission_ if he cared."

Dick let out a sob as Cobb fed those darkening voices. 

"You are better than this my dear boy. You can have a true family."

Richard turned his head to face him. Dick swallowed. He looked like Cobb. The only difference was the eyes. A bright blue and a haunting gold. 

Cobb gave him a smile that looked....tender. _Sad._

"Dear heart," he opened his arms for a _hug._ Dick gasped as tears streamed down his face.

"Will you let grandfather take care of you?"

The offer of a hug, something he had not had in ages, and the promise of someone looking out for him had Dick launching himself at Cobb.

But not to attack, _to return the embrace._

Cobb clutched Richard to his chest as he sobbed his woes out as the rain poured down around him.

"There there now Richard...grandfather is here now." Cobb gave a sickening smirk as he looked towards the sky. _"And he won't let anyone hurt you **ever** again. "_


	2. Chapter 2

Jason was pissed. For weeks he had been forced to deal with Bludhaven because Goldie had apparently disappeared off the face of the fucking planet. He scoffed. He had been trying to let go of his anger towards Dick but just seeing the man caused it to ignite back up. He wanted to fight, to rage, to _understand._ Dick wasn't Bruce, but he totally pulled a Bruce. Dick was always yammering on and on about not wanting to be Batman but then he goes and does that. So yeah, Jason didn't get it. He wanted to hurt Dick and so he did.

_"You know if you had really died we would all be better off!"_

Dick blanched visibly as soon as the words were said. Jason had hoped he would fight back but Dick...just turned around and left the manor. It baffled Jason. It also made him feel like an asshole. He has been screamed at that night by everyone. Even Tim, who had just as much to be angry about, had told him he went to far. And Bruce admonished him as well. Jason had brushed it all off before storming out, but he desperately wanted to call Dick up and apologize. But his fucking pride wouldn't let him. 

But now as he climbed through the window of Dick's apartment, he wanted to tell his pride to go fuck itself. It was cold and _silent._ Everything was left immaculate and clean. The lights were off. The entire place looked like it had been frozen in time. 

Jason called out. "Dick?" No answer. He walked room to room. "Yo Dickhead! Fucking answer me!" Still no answer. Jason was suddenly overcome by dread. This wasn't right. He went into the bedroom and found it in the same condition as the rest of the apartment. Like Dick hadn't been there in awhile. Jason was stumped. And then he saw the closet.

Jason stared upon the pristine Nightwing uniform pinned against the wall with....daggers. Daggers with owl head pommels. He fumbled with his phone and called Tim.

"Jason? What's?.." Jason interrupted him.

"I need you to get everyone to Dick's apartment right now." His voice was firm but Tim could sense the desperation.

"Why? What happened?"

Jason swallowed. "Dick isn't here and I found his suit pinned to a wall...with Court of the Owls symbols."

Silence. And then....

"We're on our way."

The call disconnected and Jason sat on the bed, hands covering his mouth as he stared at the crucified Nightwing suit.


	3. Chapter 3

Damian observed his family as they searched Grayson's apartment for any shred of evidence that could tell them just what happened. But all they had was the Nightwing suit and those damned daggers. And they were pristine. Nothing. It was as if Grayson had never existed. 

Damian wrapped his arms around himself tightly. A self-comforting gesture. But not as comforting as Grayson's hugs. How did everything go so terribly wrong so fast? The night of the altercation in the manor had truly opened his eyes to the reality of the situation. Grayson was withering away under the cold brush offs, the harsh words and violent shutdowns. 

But that night Damian had seen something else. After Todd shouted that horrendous speech, Grayson paled considerably. Not in pain but... _resignation?_ As if his worst fear had just been confirmed and he no longer had the strength to fight. He dashed after his _akhi_ and Grayson had knelt down before pulling him into a too tight embrace.

_"Never forget how much I love you Dami. "_

Those words had felt final. Too final. Watching Grayson leave had to be the hardest thing he ever experience. Why had he not stopped him? He could have but...He didn't. Maybe if he had Grayson would be with them now, all smiles and sunlight and hair ruffles. Damian took a shaky inhale. Something had happened to his brother to make him into the shadow he had become. With each harsh insult and reprimand Grayson turned into a ghost. But what had happened? Damian knew about the Crime Syndicate and the events that followed. So why did his gut tell him something else was terribly wrong? One thing was for sure, he would stop at nothing to find out what had happened. He looked out of the window.

_Hold on for me Grayson. I will find you. I swear it._

* * *

Elsewhere hidden away from the world, Dick Grayson screamed as his limbs were ripped from their sockets and his muscles torn. How long had he been on this rack? How long had he been suffering? Days? Weeks? Where was Bruce?

_You fucking idiot Grayson! It was a trap! He tricked you!_

Dick let out a sob as the stretching stopped. How could he have been so stupid? He knew Cobb was a liar, a killer. Then why did he believe him? Why did he fall for that? _How_ could be have fallen for the very obvious trick? Bruce would be so disappointed. He deserved this for being so weak and stupid.

He barely flinched as a clawed hand wiped his tears away. "Richard," Cobb's voice was soft, like a comforting father. "Don't cry _my dear boy._ I'm proud of you. You've gotten this far. You can go farther. I know you can."

Dick threw his head back as his bones popped and cracked. He gritted his teeth. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't! At any other time he would have told himself it was not to give a villain the satisfaction of hearing his pain. 

_I will make it through this. I have to. No matter what happens, I **will** make it through this. _


	4. Chapter 4

Tim didn't know what to think. He looked over every possible inch of that apartment and still nothing. Dick was well and truly gone. And if the Court had him, every second counted. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. What a mess. 

Tim never hated Dick. Been pissed? Definitely. The fake death had just brought back all of the negative feeling he had towards his eldest brother. So he lashed out. Brushed Dick off. Believed Dick _fully_ deserved the punch Jason gave him. Never tried talking to him. Never tried to understand. Tim knew he wasn't perfect. But...Dick wasn't either. 

Guilt was a powerful emotion. How could it have taken this in order for him to realize that this anger was not worth it? Tim gripped his hair. " How could I be so stupid? "

"I ask myself that very same question Drake."

Tim looked up to see Damian walk in. "What do you want Damian?"

The youngest of the Batfamily looked uncharacteristically nervous as he came into the bedroom and closed the door. Tim frowned. This was strange. "Damian?"

The young boy turned towards him. "I....wish to ask for your assistance in hacking father's files."

Tim's brain did pause at that. "Pause. You want to _hack_ Bruce's files? _Bruce?"_

Damian looked irritated. "Yes Drake that is what I just said."

Tim leaned forward on his elbows. "But why Dames?"

The nickname was a surprise even to Tim himself, but it seemed to relax Damian enough. "I believe father is keeping some part of the Spyral story hidden from us. Haven't you noticed how he always bristled at the mention of Luthor and how tense Grayson was every time father was around him?"

Now that Damian pointed it out, Tim had in fact noticed how uncomfortable Dick seemed around Bruce and how he never watched television when Luthor was on. He always acted like he wasn't safe around Bruce, around any of them with the exception of Alfred and Damian. Tim just couldn't wrap his head around it. Dick _willingly_ agreed to fake his death. Right? He sighed.

"Damian, I don't know..." But Damian wasn't about to let him dismiss him. He stood his ground.

"Are you really about to argue with me about this? Grayson has been wilting under this treatment long enough! Now either you help me or I'll do it myself." Damian gave such a glower that for a moment he didn't look like Bruce. No, he looked like _Ra's._

Tim shivered involuntarily. Damian was right. 

"I'm in."

* * *

Dick heard whispers everywhere around him. The white walls of the labyrinth were too pristine to be real. But they were.

_How long had he been walking?_

Shit. He didn't remember. Cobb's latest round of _training_ was brutal. But the man gave him no time to rest. He had quickly thrown Dick into the labyrinth on broken legs. 

_" Good luck dear heart. Do not disappoint me. "_

And then he was alone. Dick tried to shake away his thoughts. Why did he care of he disappointed Cobb? He was his enemy!

_But is he truly?_

Dick's heart stopped. What was happening to him?

"No damn it! I gotta get out of here..."

Dick began to try and climb one of the walls. It was excruciating. Between broken legs and burnt fingers, this was his hardest climb to date. But he was a Grayson! 

_"And Grayson's never give up. "_ John Grayson's voice echoed in Dick's head as he kept up his struggle. Dick thought he was the top of the wall. Yes! He was almost there! He placed his damaged hand on top....

And received a sword straight through it.

Dick let out a horrific scream was he let go and fell all the way back down until his already broken body slammed onto the pristine floor of the labyrinth. The sound of impact was horrific.

_Pain...so much **pain.**_

Dick couldn't scream. He couldn't move. He felt something wet call down his face. Blood? A good possibility. Dots swam on the edge of his vision as he saw a figure walk into view. He couldn't focus as black seeped into his eyes. Sleep did sound nice...


End file.
